Reaper Force

This unique insight into RAF Reaper operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria is based on unprecedented research access to the Reaper squadrons and personnel at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, USA. The author has observed lethal missile strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Syria and Iraq alongside the crews involved. He has also conducted extensive interviews with Reaper pilots, sensor operators, mission intelligence coordinators, and spouses and partners. The result is an intimate portrait of the human aspect of remote air warfare in the twenty-first century.

The central argument set out in this Element is that the combination of a perceived radical change in the threat environment post 9/11, and the new capabilities afforded by the long silent reach of the drone, have put pressure on the previously accepted legal frameworks justifying the use of force. This has resulted in disagreements - both articulated and unarticulated - in how the Western allies should respond to both the legal and operational innovations in the use of force that drones have catalysed. The Element focuses on the responses of the UK, France, and Germany to these developments in the context of the changing US approach to the use of force. Locating itself at the interface of international law and politics, this is the first attempt to look at the interplay between technological innovations, legal justifications, and inter-alliance politics in the context of the use of armed drones.

UAS¿s hold great promise for the military, but technology has only recently matured enough to exploit that potential. Much as the stealth fighter and Patriot missile came to public attention during the 1991 Gulf War, surveillance and missile-attack operations by Predator UAS have been publicized in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The DoD¿s 2012 plan calls for purchasing more of the existing UAS for current operations, improving the systems already in service, and designing more-capable UAS for the future. This report compares the costs of DoD's plans and the capabilities those plans might provide for reconnaissance and light attack missions with the costs and capabilities of some alternative options. Illus. This is a print on demand report.

What Is Autonomous Weapons Lethal autonomous weapons are a type of autonomous military system that can independently search for and engage targets based on programmed constraints and descriptions, and may operate in the air, on land, on water, under water, or in space. How You Will Benefit (I) Insights, and validations about the following topics: Chapter 1: Lethal autonomous weapon Chapter 2: Military robot Chapter 3: PackBot Chapter 4: General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper Chapter 5: Goalkeeper CIWS Chapter 6: General Atomics MQ-1 Predator Chapter 7: Guardium Chapter 8: THeMIS Chapter 9: Artificial intelligence arms race Chapter 10: Existential risk from artificial general intelligence Chapter 11: AI takeover Chapter 12: Gray goo (II) Answering the public top questions about autonomous weapons. (III) Real world examples for the usage of autonomous weapons in many battle fields in the armed forces. (IV) 17 appendices to explain, briefly, 266 emerging technology in each industry to have 360-degree full understanding of autonomous weapons' technologies. Who This Book Is For Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of autonomous weapons.